In spite of our best efforts and the support we had from you to keep Koolunga as it is and how the community likes it, Council’s plan to remove the pine trees will commence on Monday, 17th February 2025. This is obviously not what we wanted. We have had a little bit of good fortune though. We have a group of new Councillors who have listened to us, and this week managed to get the Council’s plan altered so that removal of a reduced total of 14 trees (that starts on Monday) will be followed by a pause and a period of monitoring to assess the results for consideration with a decision about further pine tree removal works by 2028.

What will happen when they are gone, we are not sure, all that we can say with certainty is that we will lose their shade that kept the place about 10-12 degrees (celsius) cooler in the summer heat (yes, we measured it) and kept it sheltered in the strong winds and storms throughout the year. We will lose the truly magical moment of the pine trees sporing in the spring. Today, the last calls of the yellow-tailed black cockatoos could be heard across the reserve in the evening light, and we wonder where they and the endangered Powerful Owls will go when the food & high roosts the trees provided are gone.

Finally, to the majestic pine trees of Koolunga that have silently shaded and protected our beloved Koolunga Reserve about 3/4 of a century without harm to anyone, we say thank you – and express our sorrow that we could not save all of you from the whim of the few.